The present invention pertains to the sector of the replaceable grips for handles of spanners, particularly for handles of adjustable spanners.
Fixed and adjustable spanners are well known which incorporate a grip on the handle, generally made of rubber or plastic material, in order to provide a holding surface with a high coefficient of friction with the user""s hand. The grip normally covers a part of the handle, from an area close to the head of the spanner to another area close to the end of the handle, or else, covers the handle from an area close to the head to the end of the handle. In this last case the grip also includes the hole which the metal handle generally has at its end and which is employed for hanging up the spanner when not being used.
In any case, the grip must have a design or shape with ergonomic characteristics in order that it may be used in a simple manner and may be grasped appropriately, adapting to the different positions of the hand.
For the adapting and securing of the grip on the handle, it has been foreseen, according to a known solution, that the handle has a lowered transversal section, from an area close to the head of the spanner to an area close to the end of the spanner. On this lowered area of the handle the grip is inserted or coupled and is secured longitudinally by the stops that the end walls of said recessed area define. Securing against twisting effects can be achieved by the application of an adhesive.
The most important drawback of this type of spanners is that the spanner cannot be employed without its grip. In the event that the latter becomes worn down through use, or for whatever accidental circumstance (for example, the spanner is dropped on the floor or deformation from being too close to a source of high temperature), the spanner cannot be employed adequately because the handle has, over almost all its length, a lowered area making holding uncomfortable and not functional in comparison with the traditional or ergonomic handles which do not have said lowered area.
On the other hand, there is a part of the handle, specifically the end thereof, which is not covered by the grip, whereby the holding characteristics are diminished precisely in the area that the user tends to grasp in order to be able to apply a greater operating force with the spanner.
A second solution known consists in that the handle, contrary to the previous case, has no lowering, and the grip is placed over the handle from an area close to the head of the spanner to an area close to the end of the handle. In this case the securing of the grip to the handle, in order to withstand longitudinal and twisting effects is achieved by means of an adhesive.
In this second solution the above mentioned drawbacks remain with regard to the grasping conditions, since the end of the handle is not covered by the grip. Even though the spanner can be used without the grip, the user must proceed to dismantle the grip and to adapt the handle, by means of operations which are neither quick nor simple. It is to be borne in mind that the grip is joined to the handle by means of an adhesive and the separation therefore must be carried out against the force of adherence of the adhesive and, subsequently, the layer of adhesive covering the handle shall have to be eliminated.
A third solution known consists in that the handle has a lowered transversal section from an area close the head of the spanner to the opposite end inclusive, that is in its entirety, since the grip is placed on top of the handle covering also the end thereof. The securing of the grip to the handle in order to withstand the longitudinal and twisting forces is achieved by means of an adhesive.
In this third case the drawbacks of the first solution are further accentuated, insomuch as the spanner cannot be employed without its grip, since in this third case the handle has the lowered area over its full length, making holding uncomfortable and not functional in comparison with the traditional or ergonomic handles which do not have that lowered area. Additionally, the dismantling of the grip presents the problems described in relation with the second solution.
Finally, a fourth solution known consists in that the handle of the spanner is of a traditional or ergonomic shape and the grip is placed on top of the handle from the area close to the head to the opposite end thereof inclusive, that is, on its entirety, and is adapted to the shape of the handle, handle and grip being joined by means of an adhesive material.
In this fourth case, when the grip is detached or loosened from the handle or this becomes worn down, the user can employ the spanner without a grip without difficulty, given that it does not have a lowering and has a traditional or ergonomic shape, but however replacement of the grip is not foreseen and in any case, the replacement, which involves both the dismantling of the grip and the mounting of the new grip, cannot be carried out by the user in a quick and simple manner.
The present invention is intended to overcome the drawbacks of the state of the art by means of a replaceable grip for spanner handles, particularly for handles of adjustable spanners, which offers a high coefficient of friction by being of a thermoplastic material, rubber or similar, which fits tightly over the outline of the metallic handle, wrapping round its end and such that this hole for hanging is covered and free and that it is easy to replace.
Thus, the present invention relates to a replaceable grip for a spanner handle, particularly that of an adjustable spanner, with a handle with a first end provided with a hole for hanging, the grip comprising a body open at one of its ends, of a material at least semi-elastic selected from among plastic materials, thermoplastic materials and rubbers, adapted internally at least to part of the section of the handle, and means of securing to secure the body of the handle, characterised in that
the body of the grip comprises,
a through-hole in a position coincident with the handle hole for hanging,
a blind internal axial void with a double-xe2x80x9cTxe2x80x9d cross section adapted to the cross section of the handle at different points of the handle contour,
the first means of securing comprise
flat blocking elements that each cover at least opposite rims of said through-hole,
means of securing which penetrate into the through-hole tightening the blocking elements against the grip.
According to the invention, the blocking elements can be joined to the grip by means of an adhesive and, preferentially, the blocking elements are each mounted in axial recesses provided on each side of the body, the through-hole being arranged in said recesses in such a manner that, preferentially, the exposed faces of the blocking means, are flush with the rest of the grip surface, providing continuity for the primary ergonomic form.
According to an embodiment of the invention at least one of the blocking elements, though preferably both, is a blocking plate arranged axially on the handle. Such blocking plates permit the grip to reach a resistance, being reached precisely through the stiffness of the plates which constitute a reinforcement of the material of the grip, and their securing of the grip can be optimised by the application of an adhesive in the recesses in order that the plates are stuck to the grip.
On the other hand, according to another embodiment, combinable with the embodiment in which only one of the blocking elements is a blocking plate, at least one of the blocking elements is an outer edge of a socket.
Furthermore, and according to another embodiment of the invention, combinable with any of the embodiments described above, at least one of the blocking elements is a blocking washer.
The blocking elements against the grip can comprise a male socket and a female socket coupled to each other in the hole for hanging. According to this embodiment, one or the two male and female sockets can be independent elements or emerge from one of the blocking plates, as for example from a male plate from which emerges the male socket and a female plate from which emerges the female socket. In this embodiment the sockets can each have free rims with male-female interconnection means, whilst at their other end they can be provided with thickenings which fit in the hole for hanging of the spanner handle.
In another embodiment of the invention, at least one of the blocking elements against the grip is a socket which emerges from a blocking plate, the socket being retained in the hole for hanging by pressure. This form of embodiment avoids an elastic coupling and a direct contact between plastic elements (the plates) and the metal handle of the spanner, thereby preventing certain frictions, vibrations and noises during handling by the user, and the subsequent sensation that something is coming loose on the inside of the grip. In this case the sockets are not of the male and female type and consequently are not intended to be interconnected, but both plates are identical, flat and each has only one socket preferentially short in length which are inserted into the openings of the through-hole of the grip and so into the hole for hanging of the spanner, with the particularity that they do not manage to establish contact with each other though both penetrate to an equal extent into the hole in the core of the spanner, being maintained in an intermediate coaxial position annular rings as a prolongation of the rims of the holes of the grip, on their inside faces, which are also introduced into said hole.
The securing of the grip in this case is established by the actual pressure of the plates in the recesses (by manufacturing tolerances) and also by the sockets thereof. It is possible to improve the blocking action by foreseeing that the edges of the plates and the walls of the recipient recesses, are slightly oblique (wider in the bottom) in order to present an interlocking edge in the flexible material of the grip.
In addition to the means of securing and the blocking elements, the plates may be joined to each other also by male-female elements passing through one or more supplementary holes provided in the handle of the spanner. Also in this embodiment, one of the blocking plates can be a male plate of elongated shape which incorporates at least one peg with diametric cuts which form flexible arms passing through an additional hole of the grip and through the additional hole in the handle of the spanner. Such male plate can be combined with a female plate which has on its inside face at least one projection provided with a recipient hole to receive the elastic arms of the male plate. The projection can be in the form of a bridge with legs joined to the plate.
These plates once mounted on the respective face of the grip, can be firmly integral to each other by supplementary means of axial support, with which the elastic arms of the male plate are extended. To achieve said extension, the supplementary means of axial support can comprise a solid pin housed in an axial void of the peg, the pin extending the flexible arms. Such pegs are preferentially tubular with an axial void open to the outside of the plate from which they rise. Through this respective hole a smooth shaft is introduced under pressure, said shaft having been advantageously formed in the same process as for obtaining the male plate, by injection into a mould, standing on the other side of the plate and which on being struck slightly breaks the join along an annular line of easy detachment, being totally inserted thereinafter until its outer end is flush with the plate, thus contributing to the good appearance of the assembly since the hole is thereby closed. In turn the solid pin can emerge from the male plate or be an independent element. In this embodiment the free edge of the male and female plates can have a perimetric skirt which defines a lip which is introduced in a channel on the bottom of the longitudinal recess of the grip.
As is conventionally encountered in the type of grip, also the grip of the present invention can have on its edges and/or on its sides, ribs and/or protuberances serving a non-slip function.